Chapter 433: A Situation of Certain Death!

A short while earlier.

Inside the crumbling [Incense-Draped Hall], the very instant [Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong] rose from the golden throne, Wang Ping felt a premonition.

His life tribulation had arrived.

Even so, Wang Ping was hardly flustered. He had already done everything in his power, leaving little left to attempt.

Rather than spending his remaining time in dread, he strolled quite cheerfully into the main chamber of the [Incense-Draped Hall]. The place had already been reduced to ruins, yet right in the middle of the wreckage, one small patch had miraculously escaped unharmed. Resting there was a dark, mystic egg the size of a human head.

"Sky Roar actually left this thing behind."

Wang Ping rubbed his hands together.

It was the egg of a Mystic Pheasant, an auspicious beast famed for being undying. Like Sky Roar, it was a great demon raised inside the [Incense-Draped Hall], yet Sky Roar had left it behind on its way out.

With that in mind, Wang Ping was in no rush to step forward.

Truth be told, he sensed no formation arrays and felt no premonition of danger whatsoever, as if the auspicious beast's egg were genuinely his for the taking.

That very ease made him hesitate. "Could it be a trap?"

A second later, before Wang Ping could make a move, the mystic egg suddenly glowed and gave a slight twitch beneath his astonished gaze.

"Rumble..."

It rolled right over to him.

Watching the mystic egg roll all the way to his feet and wobble from side to side as though rubbing against the soles of his shoes, Wang Ping clearly sensed it trying to curry favor.

This thing was trying to flatter him?

What was it playing at?

With a hundred and twenty thousand percent vigilance, Wang Ping cautiously backed away again before sending out a wisp of mana to give the mystic egg a gentle nudge.

The egg didn't resist in the slightest. Instead, it eagerly swallowed his mana, its glow brightening without any other change. Only after testing it several times did Wang Ping muster the nerve to pick it up, rubbing the mystic egg gently like a smooth cobblestone.

"An auspicious beast choosing its master?"

Wang Ping had an inkling of what was happening, yet he could hardly believe it. Was this auspicious beast actively choosing him as its master? Could such a windfall really exist under heaven?

Thinking of this, Wang Ping made an immediate decision.

Today, he was having egg!

He roasted it over a spiritual fire until it was cooked to perfection. With a crisp crack, the shell split open, revealing tender white and yolk that gave off a refreshing, mouthwatering aroma.

Munch, munch.

Truth be told, it was absolutely delicious—yet moments later, Wang Ping realized something was amiss as an indescribable, wondrous mystery suddenly descended upon him.

His eyes flew wide open. Locking his divine sense firmly onto the Mystic Pheasant egg he had just swallowed and refined, he felt it abruptly vanish under the influence of that mystery. For an instant, the entire world seemed to blur. In the blink of an eye, the Mystic Pheasant egg sat completely intact right in front of him once more.

Time reversal?!

No, wait—not localized time reversal...

Wang Ping had seen localized time reversal before. Back then, Mingyou had demonstrated that very trick for him using the [Heaven-Reversing Sun-Turning Sundial], and it wasn't actually all that difficult.

At the very least, a Qi Refining practitioner could pull it off.

True time reversal, however, hinged on affecting the entirety of Cosmic Deep Space while remaining undetectable to countless True Persons and even True Monarchs.

It would even have to fool immortals.

That was virtually impossible. Not even an immortal could manage it; after all, there was more than one immortal in Cosmic Deep Space, and none could simply lord over the rest.

Yet right now, Wang Ping was witnessing an utterly inconceivable scene. He was certain of what had just happened—he had eaten the Mystic Pheasant egg outright—yet the egg still stood whole and unharmed before him. There had been no process of time rewinding; it was as if he had simply closed his eyes and opened them again to find himself back in the past.

'Yes, it wasn't a rewind.'

'Rather, my consciousness was carried straight back into the past by the Mystic Pheasant egg—back to the moment before I ate it. Is this the Mystic Pheasant's innate mystery?'

It was similar to [Carefree Excursion].

[Carefree Excursion] also possessed the power to roam through the years, but the catch was that while [Carefree Excursion] could return to the past, it could not alter the history that had already transpired there.

What about the Mystic Pheasant?

At that thought, Wang Ping held his breath and stared straight at the Mystic Pheasant egg. If history were to follow its original course, he would have to eat it next.

Time ticked by, second by second.

Yet nothing happened. Wang Ping did not eat the Mystic Pheasant egg again, nor did it fly into his mouth on its own; it simply rested steadily in place.

The past had been changed?

Wang Ping drew a sharp breath, finally realizing the immense value of this auspicious beast. It could genuinely travel through time and alter history!

"Unbelievable..."

How had it done that? What was the principle behind it? Why were there no repercussions whatsoever after it returned to the past and changed history? How could such a thing exist under heaven?

In a flash, Wang Ping understood why so many people loved eating Mystic Pheasant. The claim that its meat was a supreme tonic was likely just a front; in reality, they wanted to consume it to personally experience being carried back into the past to alter history, all to trace the source and root of that profound mystery.

"What a treasure!"

Dropping his earlier attitude completely, Wang Ping cradled the Mystic Pheasant egg against his chest like a priceless gem, half-tempted to take a few more bites just to experience the shift of traveling through time again.

Before long, however, he reined in the urge.

He noticed that after this trip through time, the mystic egg's aura had weakened significantly, and its once-vibrant life fluctuations had dimmed.

"It can't be used continuously?"

Or were there other special restrictions?

Wang Ping swallowed hard and held back from taking a second bite. It seemed the secrets behind this time-traveling power would have to wait until the Mystic Pheasant woke up and told him itself.

By the look of things—'I even have to raise it?'

Wang Ping began to see the picture. So this auspicious beast was looking for a long-term meal ticket! Interesting. Didn't it know he was currently mired deep in a life tribulation?

Or did it believe he could turn peril into safety?

At that thought, Wang Ping let out a light chuckle, his mood lifting considerably. After all, up to now, nearly everyone had taken it for granted that he was certain to die in this life tribulation.

Yet he refused to believe it.

Especially after grasping "that secret," he had made up his mind to take a gamble. No matter what, he reckoned he had at least a thirty percent chance of survival this time.

"Rumble!"

The very instant Wang Ping put the Mystic Pheasant egg away, the [Incense-Draped Hall] seemed to finally lose all reason to exist, collapsing completely and crumbling into motes of dust.

At the critical moment, Wang Ping slipped into the Grotto-Heaven he had opened using the [Profound Female Complete Heaven Wondrous Art], escaping the turbulent void currents unleashed by the hall's collapse.

Only after the turbulence subsided did he step back out of his Grotto-Heaven. Stirred by a sudden premonition, he looked toward a corner of the [Star Grave Sand Sea]. As far as the eye could see, boundless golden light was spreading toward him, and grand Zen chants echoed faintly in his ears, reflecting the vague silhouette of a towering Brahma body.

What a magnificent existence it was.

Wang Ping held the [Paradox-Resolving Pacifying Arrowhead] in his hand. This Dao-proving weapon of a True Monarch granted him a perspective beyond the mortal plane, allowing him to glimpse a fraction of true reality.

He spanned the entire Cosmos.

The exalted seat known as the [Master of Secret Traces] was infinitely vast; even the stars seemed like mere dewdrops upon his fingertips, shattering in an instant, empty as dreams and fleeting bubbles.

Cosmic Deep Space, which ought to have been boundless, looked cramped before this Brahma body. Even on the scale of the universe, his majesty could only be called "colossal"—so much so that when Wang Ping faced this Brahma body, he could barely make out a single tiny line of pattern in one small corner of its form.

[Ant]

Never before had Wang Ping felt so clearly that he was an ant—not as self-deprecation, nor as an empty figure of speech, but as the plainest, most undeniable fact.

The next second, radiance flared across his body.

The towering Brahma body reflected in the depths of his eyes, manifesting mystic visions and pouring Dao attainment straight into him as hundreds of millions of Brahma Nation scriptures surged forth the moment he looked directly upon the True Monarch's dharma body.

[Heaven Forsakes Me]!

"Bang!"

Wang Ping's head snapped back. His sea of consciousness shattered, his soul scattered like a gust of wind, and his true spirit vanished without a trace, drowned on the spot beneath hundreds of millions of Brahma chants.

Only a moment later did a figure step out of the void.

It was still Wang Ping. Revived through the [Taiping Sutra], he no longer dared to look at the towering Brahma body striding step by step toward him.

'Damn it, that Chishi bastard ambushed me!'

Wang Ping cursed inwardly.

Clearly, the [Master of Secret Traces] had done that on purpose—projecting his Brahma body into reality specifically so Wang Ping would see it and be slain from afar.

And he had indeed succeeded.

Fortunately, such a kill wasn't absolute. The [Master of Secret Traces] had clearly done it in passing, and the [Taiping Sutra] still held plenty of revivals in reserve.

Better yet, thanks to that death, Wang Ping now knew exactly what he needed to do.

Within the [Star Grave Sand Sea], the [Master of Secret Traces] likewise sensed Wang Ping's sudden death and resurrection. A flicker of regret and pity passed through his Buddha eyes, which were as vast as blazing suns.

It would have been nice if that alone had been enough to kill him for good.

Sure enough, to completely slay the Dao Child now most favored by his master, he would have to erase the boy's existence utterly within Cosmic Deep Space; anything less would leave room for uncertainty.

For an ant, he was certainly a slippery one.

Still, it didn't matter. So long as no other True Persons or True Monarchs stood in his way, once he stepped squarely in front of Wang Ping, no method of resurrection would do the boy any good.

In a flash, the [Master of Secret Traces] paced forward.

Behind him, [Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong], who was in the midst of converting into a Brahma Cultivator, moved to block the advance of the two True Monarchs of metal qi and fire qi.

Of course, he couldn't actually stop them.

Yet even if the two True Monarchs could crush right over [Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong], it would still jolt and slow them down—how could their speed possibly match the unhindered [Master of Secret Traces]?

In the end, he would still be a step faster.

Unless—

"Fellow Daoist Xuangong, a battle between True Monarchs is perilous beyond measure. Why should the two of us meddle in it? Come watch from the sidelines with me instead—who knows, we might both find an opportunity to attain the Dao."

The very instant before [Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong] met the two True Monarchs of metal and fire, a soft chuckle echoed out. Twenty-four rays of radiant cloud-light abruptly blazed to life in Cosmic Deep Space—dazzling, resplendent, and shaped like an open palm that planted itself squarely in front of [Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong].

A figure emerged along with them.

[Daoist Master Hanguang Danyang]!

Hidden amid the radiant clouds, he was ringed by one yang line at the heaven position and two yin lines at the human and earth positions, aligning into a towering trigram that suppressed all phenomena.

[Gen Trigram]!

Gen was the mountain—representing halting, steadiness, and suppression. At this moment, it firmly blocked [Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong], keeping him from stepping forward to hinder the two True Monarchs of metal and fire.

And that was not all.

Within the twenty-four-colored cloud-light, a gentle breeze stirred, bringing harmony to all things—a trigram formed of one yin line at the earth position and two yang lines at the heaven and human positions.

[Xun Trigram]!

[Gen] above and [Xun] below resonated with a certain karmic merit, calling forth the corresponding Supreme Position of Heaven and Earth within Cosmic Deep Space.

It was the wind sweeping down the mountain, the breeding of rot and turmoil; its intent was to purge corruption, to bring order out of chaos, and to harbor a prudent heart of salvation, restoring the governance of heaven and earth to its proper order.

[Mountain-Wind: Decay]!

Just as [Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong] had resonated with [Earth-Fire: Darkened Light], [Daoist Master Hanguang Danyang] resonated with [Mountain-Wind: Decay] to oppose him.

Both Supreme Positions of Heaven and Earth manifested their mighty power at once. Though neither cultivator could wield them as effortlessly as a True Monarch, the two positions spontaneously repelled and clashed against each other.

With [Daoist Master Hanguang Danyang] holding [Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong] back, the two True Monarchs of metal and fire suffered no delay. The rising sun at midheaven and the sword of starlight struck second yet arrived first, intercepting the [Master of Secret Traces] once again and halting him in the middle reaches of the [Star Grave Sand Sea] before he could press any further.

"Rumble!"

Even without going all out, the sheer presence of those three supreme, exalted beings was enough to throw the [Star Grave Sand Sea] into violent turmoil.

That lasted until another projection of light surfaced.

It was a grand palace complex. Though it seemed to stand infinitely far away, it was unmistakably real, its pavilions, towers, and jade halls stacked layer upon layer—the [Heaven Defiance Palace]!

Following the complete destruction of the [Incense-Draped Hall], this last and largest ruin of the Great Rebellion had likewise plunged into the present world, descending right atop the [Star Grave Sand Sea].

At this very moment, through the sheer scale of the [Heaven Defiance Palace] and the supreme mysteries it contained, the Supreme Position of Heaven and Earth known as [Gen as Mountain] firmly stabilized the quaking [Star Grave Sand Sea]. It kept this perilous region of the Cosmos from collapsing under the True Monarchs' presence, seemingly preserving the ancient cultivation lineages here.

Yet what was the reality?

At the end of the day, this great battle never should have taken place in the [Star Grave Sand Sea] at all; it was [Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong] single-handedly pushing things forward that had brought about this outcome.

Rescuing the ancient cultivation lineages from fire and water?

Why not ask where the fire and water came from in the first place!

"Beast!"

Deep within the [Dao Tomb], seeing that this development could no longer be stopped, [Po]—one of the eight ancient Daoist lords—glared until his eyes nearly split and bellowed the curse right away.

By comparison, the other seven Daoist lords remained relatively calm. They had anticipated this all along and were mentally prepared for it. Furious though they were at [Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong] for repaying their kindness with betrayal, they calmly began weighing how to respond.

"Should we make a move?"

"It looks to me like the [Master of Secret Traces] is running out of tricks. This is a death trap laid specifically for him, after all. From where I stand, I can hardly see how he could turn the tables."

"Something isn't right."

Paying no mind to the situation around the [Master of Secret Traces], [Yang] shifted his gaze toward Wang Ping, who was sitting cross-legged in deep meditation with his eyes tightly shut.

"If this were an ordinary death trap, that might well be true. However, this trap falls under the governance of [Destiny]. The true protagonist here isn't the [Master of Secret Traces], but the one actually undergoing his life tribulation. By [Destiny]'s principle of fairness, there is no way the [Master of Secret Traces] will be killed off so easily."

"He definitely still has a trump card."

"Or rather, aside from the [Master of Secret Traces], there is another True Monarch who will pose a lethal threat to him... Until that party makes a move, we keep waiting."

"We stay put."

[Dao]'s voice echoed faintly, "[Earth-Fire: Darkened Light] is no easy Supreme Position of Heaven and Earth to wield... I have a rough idea of what fire qi is trying to do. Typical demonic Daoist methods, as always."

"Only, they are still waiting for an opening."

Hearing this, [Po] was once again the first to lose his patience. Itching for a fight and wishing he could charge right out into a grand battle, he asked, "What opening?"

"An opening where the [Master of Secret Traces] wavers."

As the words fell, [Dao] also turned his gaze toward Wang Ping, admiration rising in his voice. "Truly a heaven-blessed talent."

If Wang Ping had simply given up because he considered himself a lowly cultivator—doing nothing while watching the great figures clash overhead—his odds of surviving this tribulation would have been grim indeed. That would have meant leaving his life entirely to luck, and to those who bank on blind luck, [Destiny] only ever deals the cruelest of endings.

Cultivating the true through the false naturally favored higher cultivators.

Yet for lower cultivators, it also served as a bridge connecting them to those above, allowing a lower cultivator to influence a higher cultivator's practice to a certain degree.

Wang Ping's eyes snapped open.

Boom!

In an instant, his aura began to climb. Nine qi manifestations materialized into a mystic stairway reaching to the heavens, linking with the earth-yin water to steadily elevate his aura higher and higher.

He was breaking through!

He was charging toward the Qi Refining Second Layer—though, of course, he deliberately reined himself in. Rather than breaking through in one go, he merely brushed against the edge of the Realm without actually crossing over.

That alone was enough.

At the exact moment he pressed against the Qi Refining Second Layer, the [Profound One Calamity-Crossing Ring] behind his head trembled, and a line of small characters swiftly surfaced upon it:

[Deity Transformation Realm, left behind by True Person Shuofang Hanyou]

That brief line of small characters had been inscribed by the [Master of Secret Traces]'s own hand back before he defected to the Brahma Nation. It was his karma within the Immortal Gate, and at this moment, it had been triggered and roused.

The higher Wang Ping's cultivation grew, the heavier this karma became. Reaching the perfection of nine qi manifestations at the Qi Refinement First Layer had already brought it to the threshold of shaking his Bodhisattva Position, let alone taking another step forward. Wang Ping's breakthrough immediately fed back onto the [Master of Secret Traces].

The result was immediate.

Hemmed in by the two True Monarchs of metal and fire, the supreme, colossal Brahma body of the [Master of Secret Traces] suffered a split-second tremor so faint it was almost imperceptible.

To a True Person, that fleeting tremor was nearly impossible to sense.

To a True Monarch, however, it was the exact opening in battle they had been waiting so long for—neither metal qi nor fire qi would ever let such a chance slip by.

At once, metal qi flooded the heavens.

A beam of starlight, unbending and straight as if it would never swerve, tore across the Cosmos along its ordained trajectory and flashed straight into the eyes of the [Master of Secret Traces].

For that single instant, even his infinitely vast Brahma body seemed small. Trailing myriad mystic visions in its wake, the comet-tail of starlight plunged into the mortal world. [Qian] and [Dui] converged, blending pure yang nature with true, upright metal to project a vision of a hundred treasures gathered and storehouses brimming to capacity.

Qian, three unbroken lines; Dui, broken at the top.

The two trigrams overlapped here—one flawless and whole, supremely yang and unyielding; the other all-embracing, concealing yin within its flaw. It was a match made in heaven.

With [Qian] above and [Dui] below, unyielding yang stood in front while supple yin followed behind, establishing high and low, superior and inferior—demanding that one tread the path of propriety and rectitude, neither bending nor compromising.

Thus, it was called [Heaven-Marsh: Treading].

"Boom!"

In an instant, the Brahma body of the [Master of Secret Traces] cracked inch by inch. Illuminated by that beam of starlight, the once-imperceptible tremor was magnified countless times over.

Fragments rained down with a clatter.

The moment those fragments broke away from the Brahma body of the [Master of Secret Traces], they dissolved into surging torrents of water qi that flowed like a silver river of stars back into Cosmic Deep Space.

"What a fine [Heaven-Marsh: Treading]! What a fine sword of superior and inferior!"

"Suppressing the lower from above, leaving me nowhere to evade!"

After a brief hush, the heartfelt praise of the [Master of Secret Traces] rang out once more, though his voice lacked its earlier vigor and carried a few stifled coughs.

Yet far more noticeable than his own injuries were the Zen chants and Brahma light surrounding him, both of which flickered subtly between bright and dim in the wake of that sword strike.

His exalted position was wavering!

The position of the [Master of Secret Traces] had originally been fashioned by the Living Buddha through his own Brahma dharma after severing a portion of the [Kan Trigram]'s authority; what was happening now was simply a return to its origin.

Of course, what looked like a heaven-flooding loss of water qi to a lower cultivator was a mere drop in the bucket to the [Master of Secret Traces]. Even after taking that strike of [Heaven-Marsh: Treading] head-on, he had suffered only a slight loss—nowhere near even a minor injury, let alone death and the collapse of his Dao.

Nor did the real problem lie there.

'Trying to take my life with a single sword strike is a pipe dream. The real trouble is what they intend to accomplish through this strike—that is the key.'

The [Master of Secret Traces] lowered his gaze.

In the very next instant, following that slashing sword from metal qi's [True Monarch Fengxian Daozheng], the rising sun on the other side—fire qi's [True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming]—also made his move.

And moving right alongside him was one more person.

[Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong]!

This Daoist lord, who just moments ago had been thick as thieves with the [Master of Secret Traces] as though his defection to the Brahma Nation had long been agreed upon, abruptly changed his tune.

"Strike!"

Forming a hand seal with one hand, he caused the light of Brahma dharma upon his body to flare brilliantly, seizing the exact moment the [Master of Secret Traces]'s position wavered to strike at his weak point!

His timing was nigh impeccable, catching the exact instant when the [Master of Secret Traces] had been shaken by Wang Ping's karma and had his flaw magnified by the sword of [Heaven-Marsh: Treading]. The Bodhisattva Position, which had always been seamlessly fused with the [Master of Secret Traces], suddenly shifted, and a vast tide of its profound mysteries was siphoned away!

The [Master of Secret Traces] immediately turned to look.

His gaze met the cold, expressionless face of [Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong], who betrayed not a shred of emotion, as though this betrayal had been part of the plan all along.

"So that's how it is..."

He understood now.

That was why [Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong] had offered to defect to the Brahma Nation and let himself be converted—not because he truly wished to become a Brahma Cultivator, but to establish a connection with the [Master of Secret Traces]'s exalted position!

Everything had been for this very moment.

Wang Ping created the opening, metal qi magnified it, and [Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong] seized upon it, saddling his Bodhisattva Position with a rival contender!

"You want to become the [Master of Secret Traces]?"

The Bodhisattva stared straight at [Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong], then shook his head. "No, not you—this is fire qi's scheme. What a sinister, demonic Daoist ploy!"

[Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong] did not answer.

Holding his spell seal steady, he maintained his resonance with the [Master of Secret Traces] while driving the [Earth-Fire: Darkened Light] he had summoned straight into the Bodhisattva Position!

What was [Earth-Fire: Darkened Light]?

The sun sinking beneath the earth, its light damaged, veiling its own brilliance... It was a Supreme Position of Heaven and Earth of relentless diminution. What would happen if it fell into a Bodhisattva Position?

Deadly poison!

The influence of a Supreme Position of Heaven and Earth was beyond question. Once [Earth-Fire: Darkened Light] settled into the Bodhisattva Position of the [Master of Secret Traces], it would inevitably alter the imagery of that position and even ripple across the entire Brahma Nation—especially since the Living Buddha had originally been a fire qi cultivator himself, meaning Brahma dharma inherently carried fire qi!

Earth-Fire: Darkened Light—the sun sinking beneath the earth.

Such imagery matched the transformations of Brahma dharma all too well; it would drag the flourishing Brahma Nation, now at its zenith like the midday sun, and forcibly deflect it toward decline!

What was more, this [Earth-Fire: Darkened Light] had been orchestrated single-handedly by fire qi. As the inverted hexagram of [Fire-Earth: Advance], it could be drawn upon and swallowed up by the True Monarch of fire qi.

Yet by then, wouldn't it have already merged into the Bodhisattva Position?

As a result, fire qi would use [Earth-Fire: Darkened Light] to feed upon the decline of the entire Brahma Nation as nourishment, bolstering the imagery of his own karmic merit in turn!

That was fire qi's true objective.

That was the true meaning of [Chastising the Vassal State]!

Because the Dao was not yet radiant, one used it solely to chastise one's own vassal state—fitting for subjugating a dependent realm, for turning peril into safety, and nothing could be more suited for use against the Brahma Nation that had been born out of fire qi!

Once such karmic merit was achieved, what an immense boon it would be to [True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming], who had set it all in motion! It would be tantamount to turning the entire Brahma Nation into his feast, gorging himself and stepping right over the Brahma Nation to ascend to the heavens in a single bound. Given enough time, he might even be able to charge toward the Realm of an immortal!

'There's more to it than this...'

In a flash, the [Master of Secret Traces] watched as his Bodhisattva Position had its radiance divided away and infused with [Earth-Fire: Darkened Light], causing its might to plummet even further.

He was powerless to stop it.

Because of Wang Ping's existence and that sword strike of [Heaven-Marsh: Treading], the wavering of his Bodhisattva Position was already unavoidable, leaving him with no way to counter this.

Even so, he remained composed.

'This alone still isn't enough.'

'No matter what, I am still the [Master of Secret Traces], and less than a tenth of my profound mysteries have been siphoned away. So long as I do not die, there is still a chance to turn things around.'

So long as he remained on his seat, [Earth-Fire: Darkened Light] could never sink completely into the Bodhisattva Position. In fact, even if he died, there would still be variables at play.

The Brahma Nation still had seven other Bodhisattvas. If they could not stop [Earth-Fire: Darkened Light] from sinking into the position of the [Master of Secret Traces], at worst they could sever the limb to save the body, cutting this Bodhisattva Position off from the Brahma Nation entirely. That way, at most only the [Master of Secret Traces] would suffer, while the other Bodhisattvas of the Brahma Nation would remain intact.

Of course, to fire qi, that was merely the difference between a massive profit and a smaller one.

Yet from what the [Master of Secret Traces] knew of fire qi, those demonic Daoists were insatiable gluttons who hoarded everything and gave nothing back; to them, a smaller profit was a loss. How could they ever be content with swallowing just one Bodhisattva Position?

'They must have another move in reserve!'

The [Master of Secret Traces] calculated rapidly, vast reserves of Dao attainment swirling through his sea of consciousness. Before long, a thought surfaced, giving him an answer.

'Could it be...'

Once that thought arose, it instantly consumed all of the [Master of Secret Traces]'s mind. Yes—if that was the case, everything made sense.

At this moment, the [Master of Secret Traces] looked neither at [True Monarch Fengxian Daozheng], who had slashed him with a sword, nor at [True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming], who was scheming against him, nor did he pay any heed to [Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong], who had feigned cooperation only to turn on him. Instead, he looked toward the deep, dark light of the Cosmos.

Just moments ago, all three True Monarchs had played their pieces.

In response to his opening move, each of the three True Monarchs had answered in turn—with that sword strike of [Heaven-Marsh: Treading], and with the scheme hidden inside [Earth-Fire: Darkened Light].

That included water qi as well.

At first, the [Master of Secret Traces] had assumed water qi's move was simply Wang Ping attempting a Realm breakthrough to shake him through karma. Now, however, he understood: 'I was wrong.'

'Master... She made her move long ago. I wasn't the first to place a piece on the board—she was. Failing to see through that, my very first step was a blunder.'

In the very instant that realization struck him—

Before the eyes of the [Master of Secret Traces], [Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong]'s aura began to shift once more as his hands formed a new seal, calling out to Cosmic Deep Space again.

At once, the part of the Cosmos that had been shrouded in dark light without a trace of color blazed into view, illuminating a brand-new Supreme Position of Heaven and Earth!

"What a move!"

Over on the other side, [Daoist Master Hanguang Danyang] took a certain pleasure in the misfortune.

He would never forget that particular mystery; after all, that was the very thing that had made him fall short at the final step inside the [Eight Trigrams Furnace], costing him the chance to directly claim a Supreme Position of Heaven and Earth.

The concealment of water qi!

From the very beginning, [Earth-Fire: Darkened Light] had not been the only Supreme Position of Heaven and Earth summoned by [Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong]—he had actually resonated with two supreme positions at the same time!

Or rather, he couldn't have avoided resonating with it even if he tried. A Supreme Position of Heaven and Earth was never subject to a True Person's control; so long as one performed the corresponding deeds—even if it was only a beginning—the supreme position would immediately surface. Yet the second Supreme Position of Heaven and Earth he had called forth had been hidden away by another mighty power!

It was precisely this crucial concealment that had made all the difference.

It had led the [Master of Secret Traces] to misjudge [Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong]'s true stance—one false step leading to another until he found himself in this dire predicament!

As for the Supreme Position of Heaven and Earth she had hidden away, it now shone forth in full view: [Dui] above and [Li] below, manifesting the mystic vision of fire refining true metal.

[Marsh-Fire: Revolution]!

"Sure enough, it's this Supreme Position of Heaven and Earth after all!"

Seeing this, the [Master of Secret Traces] let out a deep sigh, while on the other side, [Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong] shifted his aura to resonate with this Supreme Position of Heaven and Earth!

All his feints and maneuvers to left and right had merely been a smokescreen; in the end, he had returned to this very path that both water qi and fire qi knew of and had ultimately chosen for him.

[Marsh-Fire: Revolution] governed radical change and upheaval.

And [Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong] had first abandoned the ancient Dao to cultivate as a True Person, then forsaken the Immortal Gate to defect to the Brahma Nation—repeatedly overhauling his own foundation, which was what had drawn the gaze of [Marsh-Fire: Revolution] in the first place.

Of course, that alone was far from enough.

More importantly, [Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong] was guiding [Earth-Fire: Darkened Light] to plunge into the Bodhisattva Position—and that was a true, world-upending revolution!

'In other words, fire qi doesn't just want [Earth-Fire: Darkened Light] to fall into the Bodhisattva Position of the [Master of Secret Traces]—he wants [Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong] to prove [Marsh-Fire: Revolution] and replace me as the new [Master of Secret Traces]. Once the Bodhisattva Position has a master sitting upon it, severing it will be a pipe dream.'

The [Master of Secret Traces] knitted his brows tightly.

Beyond that, this maneuver lashed [Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong] inextricably to the camp bent on killing him, leaving zero possibility of him switching sides again.

Only by killing him and installing a new master upon the Bodhisattva Position of the [Master of Secret Traces] could [Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong] complete an act of revolution grand enough to win the recognition of [Marsh-Fire: Revolution].

At the very same time, however—

Beside the [Dao Tomb], Wang Ping raised his head, watched the distant battle of True Monarchs to read the situation, and suddenly spoke up, "Wait—something's wrong here!"

The next second, a voice sounded.

It was [Po]. In the end, the ancient Daoist lord hadn't been able to hold back; he had actively reached out to Wang Ping and even shielded him from the backlash of gazing directly upon a battle between True Monarchs.

[Po] had even explained the course of the True Monarchs' battle and its many profound mysteries to Wang Ping in detail, making sure he truly grasped the shifts on the battlefield.

Thus, the moment Wang Ping spoke, [Po] looked over as well.

"What's wrong?"

"The Dao Lord!"

Wang Ping's eyes shone brightly. He had not forgotten how [Daoist Master Hanguang Danyang] had paid him a visit on the day he left the [Unchanging Non-Action Dao Field].

Back then, he had arrived at a conclusion: both water qi and fire qi actually knew about [Marsh-Fire: Revolution] all along. Yet in the eyes of [Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong], that path had been chosen specifically for him by water qi behind fire qi's back—when in truth, water qi and fire qi were working together to deceive the Dao Lord!

He continued, "[Marsh-Fire: Revolution] carries a hidden pitfall. The Dao Lord... probably never intended to truly become a Bodhisattva at first, yet water qi and fire qi are jointly pushing him down that road!"

"He's been played!"

Wang Ping's judgment was spot-on.

Beneath [Marsh-Fire: Revolution], [Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong]'s expression was icy cold as his resonance with the Bodhisattva Position of the [Master of Secret Traces] grew tighter and tighter.

Naturally, he had no desire to become a Bodhisattva.

After all, how could a Bodhisattva compare to a True Monarch? It was ultimately a rung lower.

He had stolen the profound mysteries of the Bodhisattva Position solely to drive [Earth-Fire: Darkened Light] inside and resonate with [Marsh-Fire: Revolution].

Yet he had never expected that once he truly resonated with [Marsh-Fire: Revolution], the requirements of this Supreme Position of Heaven and Earth would prove so harsh—demanding that he claim the seat of the [Master of Secret Traces] and carry the revolution through to completion before he could prove it... In that instant, he had nearly backed out and abandoned the supreme position altogether.

The problem was that [Earth-Fire: Darkened Light] was already linked to the Bodhisattva Position.

Things had gone too far; he had no choice but to see the proof through.

Turning it over in his mind, he found he had no other path left except to brace himself, press on down [Marsh-Fire: Revolution], and become a Bodhisattva of the Brahma Nation.

Yet with [Earth-Fire: Darkened Light] injected into it, the seat of the [Master of Secret Traces] had become a virulent poison aimed squarely at the Brahma Nation, virtually guaranteeing that every other Bodhisattva would reject him.

As the new [Master of Secret Traces], he would have to face the combined siege of the remaining seven Bodhisattvas of the Brahma Nation. If he didn't want to die and watch his hard-won exalted position vanish like smoke, his only option would be to seek outside aid—throwing himself into the arms of water qi and fire qi and obediently playing the part of the nail they had driven into the Brahma Nation.

"What a grand scheme!"

[Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong] laughed in cold fury, his expression like frost that would not thaw for ten thousand ages. Even so, his movements did not falter; he continued resonating with the Bodhisattva Position.

It seemed he had swallowed this loss.

Over on the other side, Wang Ping abruptly rose to his feet, his expression gravely solemn. He knew the greatest calamity of this entire ordeal had now locked squarely onto him.

'Now that things have come to this, I'm of no further use.'

Wang Ping's eyes shone brightly.

'To the [Master of Secret Traces], I was already a target who had to die. Before this, fire qi, metal qi, and water qi would at least step in to keep me alive.'

That was because they needed him to shake the exalted position of the [Master of Secret Traces].

Now, however, things were different.

First, [Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong] had already established resonance with the position of the [Master of Secret Traces] and could shake its profound mysteries without needing Wang Ping at all.

Second, the [Profound One Calamity-Crossing Ring] on him carried the Immortal Gate karma from before the [Master of Secret Traces] defected to the Brahma Nation. It had served as the bait forcing the [Master of Secret Traces] to step into this death trap, but now it had become a liability—not only offering zero benefit, but threatening to become an unwanted variable.

Because the one they wanted to kill was the [Master of Secret Traces].

They needed to kill a complete, thoroughgoing [Master of Secret Traces]; any lingering Immortal Gate karma at this point would only make the kill imperfect.

If it was imperfect, the revolution would be flawed.

If it was imperfect, his death would not be absolute.

'So... no one is going to protect me anymore.'

Realization dawned in Wang Ping's mind—and as if answering his thoughts, the radiance that had been blocking the [Master of Secret Traces] all this time suddenly parted to either side.

Metal qi and fire qi.

As if by prior agreement, the two True Monarchs stayed their hands simultaneously, ceasing to obstruct the [Master of Secret Traces] and throwing wide open the path leading straight to Wang Ping.

And what of the [Master of Secret Traces]?

Wang Ping raised his head, yet instead of looking at the [Master of Secret Traces], he turned his gaze toward another stretch of the heavens—where [Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong] stood.

From over there, a gaze was looking right back at him.

"He will still kill you!"

[Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong]'s expression was calm.

Of course the [Master of Secret Traces] would kill him. With [Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong] already vying with him for the Bodhisattva Position, he could never allow Wang Ping to remain alive as another source of instability to his seat.

Therefore, even though the [Master of Secret Traces] knew full well that the various True Monarchs were doing this deliberately—wanting him to sever his karma and become the [Master of Secret Traces] through and through—he had no choice but to comply. If he killed Wang Ping and stabilized his position, he would still have a thread of life; if he failed to kill Wang Ping, he wouldn't even have that!

"Amitabha..."

At that moment, the [Master of Secret Traces] moved.

Just as everyone had anticipated, once the path was cleared, he did not hesitate for an instant. Amid sky-filling Zen chants and surging flames of light, he strode straight toward Wang Ping.

"Move!"

Right then, the eight Daoist lords inside the [Dao Tomb] finally stepped forth—yet what they faced was not the [Master of Secret Traces] alone.

The very next second, fire qi's [True Monarch Zhaoxuan Jinming] and metal qi's [True Monarch Fengxian Daozheng] struck out together, turning their might against the eight Daoist lords to pin them firmly inside the [Dao Tomb]. Unhindered, the [Master of Secret Traces] glided past and arrived right in front of Wang Ping in a single step.

And throughout the entire process—

The dark light steeped in the Cosmos showed no reaction whatsoever. Water qi—[Primordial Monarch Mingdu Xuanyi], who should have been Wang Ping's greatest backer—seemed to have tacitly accepted this outcome as well.

And so, all sounds fell silent.

Wang Ping's pupils dilated and his eyes glared wide as he watched that towering Brahma body, which had filled the entire Cosmos, shrink step by step until it was reflected wholly within his eyes.

At this moment, the light of karmic merit upon his body burned brighter than ever.

[Heaven Forsakes Me].

Metal qi, fire qi, water qi, the Brahma Nation, [Supreme Dao Lord Xuangong]... At this moment, nearly everyone involved in this life tribulation wanted him dead and his Dao erased.

If this was not [Heaven Forsakes Me], then what was?

Then, the [Master of Secret Traces] slowly raised a single finger and pressed it toward the center of Wang Ping's brow, carrying an overwhelming, peerless power to slay both life and soul.

Inside the [Dao Tomb], the eight suppressed Daoist lords raged to the heavens, yet there was nothing they could do. The entire [Star Grave Sand Sea] seemed to freeze in that instant as indifferent gazes descended from higher dimensions—no longer paying any mind to the lower cultivator who had outlived his usefulness, merely waiting for the outcome.

A situation of certain death!